Chemical company fined £200,000 after toxic leak

CHEMICAL company Syngenta has been fined more than £200,000 after safety breaches led to a toxic chemical being ejected.

The incident happened at Syngenta’s Huddersfield plant. A maintenance technician unintentionally opened the valve on an isotanker.

Between 3.5 and 3.8 tonnes of a potentially lethal herbicide: paraquat dichloride solution.

Syngenta was sentenced on 16 March at Leeds Crown Court for breaching major accidents hazards regulations, with additional costs on top of its £200,000 fine of £13,041.

There are 380 staff at the Huddersfield Manufacturing Centre. Several of Syngenta’s products are manufactured at Huddersfield for export worldwide. Herbicides and insecticides are all manufactured onsite.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Angus Robbins commented: “This incident could have been prevented if Syngenta had properly assessed the real risk of the value being opened while the tank was under pressure”